Despite an active reform narrative and growing international engagement, corruption remains the biggest drag on Ukraine’s economic credibility. A recent survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) found that 40% of Ukrainians still believe their country is “hopelessly corrupt,” down only slightly from 47% last year, according to Kyrylo Shevchenko, former Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.

Shifting in perceptions on corruption are one of the core challenges facing Bankova (Ukraine’s equivalent of the Kremlin) and Ukraine’s reconstruction. On paper reforms have yet to translate into systemic change.

“Every dollar of aid is turned into a political risk,” says Shevchenko. “Until corruption is tackled systemically, the Ukrainian economy will keep bleeding credibility faster than it rebuilds.”

And perceived corruption has undermined US support for Bankova. As part of the emergency $61bn aid package released last April, a line item for some $25mn to cover auditing costs was included to check that US support was not being stolen.

A team of US accountants were sent to Ukraine earlier this year to check the books. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy further undermined confidence after he tried to ram through a controversial law that gives unlimited power to the General Prosecutor that civil rights groups say will gut Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms on July 22. The passage of the law sparked the first anti-government protests since the war with Russia began and Bankova was forced to rapidly back off and return the autonomy of the anti-corruption organs with another law within days.

Nevertheless, over the past year Ukraine has made some progress, says Shevchenko. The High Anti-Corruption Court (ACC)) has issued several high-profile rulings, and digital public procurement tools like ProZorro have improved transparency in some areas. Yet enforcement remains patchy, elite impunity persists, and corruption continues to shape everything from wartime logistics to reconstruction contracts, according to Shevchenko.

The gap between Western expectations and domestic implementation is growing harder to ignore. “Corruption continues to drain investments, block EU integration, and erode donor confidence,” he said. While Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in 2022, Brussels has repeatedly flagged insufficient progress on judicial independence, rule of law, and the de-oligarchizing agenda.

Even among Ukrainians, belief in reform is fragile. The same KIIS survey shows that nearly half the country doubts real change is happening, suggesting that years of unfulfilled promises and high-profile scandals have left a deep institutional scar.

“Public trust remains fragile, with only some improvements,” Shevchenko notes. “Talk of reform is not enough. Delivery is everything.”

The stakes could not be higher. The EU is finalising a multi-year €50bn aid package, while the International Monetary Fund is reviewing a $15.6bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF). Donors increasingly condition their support on measurable anti-corruption benchmarks, including independent audits and personnel reform in the judiciary, customs, and security services.

According to observers, the rationale for Law 21414 that would have gutted the anti-corruption bodies and put corruption investigations under the direct control of the General Prosecutor, a Zelenskiy appointee, was investigations by National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) were focusing on people inside Bankova’s inner circle that the president wanted to head off.

The law was suspended, but according to reports, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), which is also under Zelenskiy’s direct control, continued to pressure NABU offices with investigations and inspections.

Meanwhile, investor interest remains cautious. Ukraine is viewed as a high-risk frontier market, despite post-war rebuilding opportunities in energy, logistics, and defence-related industries. But without legal protections and institutional clarity, few are willing to commit long-term capital.

“Donornomics only works when credibility compounds,” Shevchenko said. “Ukraine needs a corruption-proof recovery—not just for the sake of its partners, but for the future of its own citizens.”

Until that happens, Ukraine’s economy will remain suspended between Western lifelines and domestic gridlock. Reform will need to outpace scepticism—for both markets and the millions of Ukrainians still waiting for real change.